Page 61 of Riding the Waves

“You have a business, a house … and you’re way more mature now. Trust me.”

“My life is still disorganised. Which is the complete opposite of Amy’s.”

“I can’t believe you’re being so cautious about this.”

“I have to be.” He glanced pointedly at the door. “It’s not just about me and Amy. There’s Marty and Billy to consider.”

“Surely it would be good for them to have their parents back together.”

“Not if it all falls apart again a few months down the line. They’ve been through enough upheaval recently with Anthony moving out.” He grimaced, remembering the plans for the morning and relaying them to Hugh.

“You’re going surfing with Amy’s husband?” Hugh said, disbelief shining in his eyes.

“He’s coming to watch the boys surf. That’s all. Then he’s going home.”

“You and Amy and Anthony at the beach with the kids like some weird modern family unit?”

“Exactly. Except it’s not weird.”

“It’s very weird,” Hugh declared. “Especially considering the events of yesterday evening. Isn’t that going to be incredibly awkward?”

Damian conceded it might be awkward. Actually, he was dreading it and lingered over the coffee Hugh made him, putting off heading to the beach for as long as possible. Finally, he couldn’t avoid it any longer and herded the boys into the car, hoping to get the family beach trip over and done with as quickly as possible.

“Can Anthony come surfing with us?” Billy asked from the back of the car when they were turning into the beach car park.

“He’s just going to watch to see how good you are.”

“You could teach him to surf,” Marty suggested.

Damian couldn’t help but smile at the suggestion and the boys’ complete lack of awareness at the inappropriateness of the idea.

“I’ll ask him if he wants to,” Billy said, opening the car door the second they came to a stop.

Damian clocked Anthony and Amy then – standing at the top of the beach. Anthony’s hand rested on Amy’s shoulder, their heads close together as though they were deep in conversation. They drew apart when Billy approached them, shouting for their attention as he went.

The sight of them together made Damian’s stomach twist. All he could hope was that Anthony left quickly. Smiling and pretending everything was fine was doable as long as he didn’t have to keep the act up for too long.

“Morning.” Damian lifted a hand to wave as he got close, then decided it was an odd, unnatural gesture. “How are you?”

“Good, thanks.” Anthony held out his hand and Damian smiled tightly as he shook it. “Looking forward to seeing what these two can do on surfboards.”

Marty pressed his head against Damian’s hip. “Please can Anthony come too?”

“I’ve never been on a surfboard in my life,” Anthony said lightly. “I’m sure it’d be very embarrassing.”

“You’re welcome to give it a go,” Damian said automatically.

“Really?” Anthony asked.

Damian stared at him. No, not really. He’d said it to be polite and hadn’t even considered the possibility of Anthony taking him up on it. “Yep,” he said, since there didn’t seem to be any other socially acceptable reply.

“I wasn’t going to stay long,” Anthony said. “But I’ve got swim shorts in the car and it’s kind of appealing.”

“Yes!” Billy swung on his arm. “It’s so much fun.”

“Okay.” Anthony looked at Amy. “I guess I’ll give it a go. I’ll get my swim shorts on.”

He set off across the car park and Amy told the boys to go into the shack and look for their swim shorts. Damian told them where to find them, near their wetsuits, and promised to come and help them in a minute.

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